With a magnificent display on Tuesday night at New Tottenham Hotspur stadium, Spurs deserved the win over Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-finals.
Although City boss Pep Guardiola did not entirely agree, the Cityzens may have had more possession at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as they do in most stadiums, but did not do a lot with it.
Tottenham pressed City from minute one, hassling and harrying their opponents off the ball, not letting the Champions League favourites settle.
Mauricio Pochettino got his tactics spot on and they might have won the leg by more than the solitary goal given them by Son Heung-min late on. It was always going to be a fast-paced, open, attacking game, between two sides who like to get the ball down and play.
But in defending his team selection, Kevin de Bruyne and Leroy Sane were left on the bench until the 89th minute and his team’s display, Guardiola gave an assessment of Tottenham’s style of play that will leave the Spurs fans scratching their heads.
The phrase “long ball” was used more than once during the Spaniard’s post-match press conference, not a term oft used to describe Pochettino’s Spurs.
Guardiola said: “They have a lot of players, they’re a big club. They have Dele Alli, Son [Heung-min], they can play five at the back, they have alternatives [to Harry Kane] so we will see. [Fernando] Llorente is always dangerous with the long ball. We will see what they do.
“I know how well they play long balls and get second balls, I know how good they are when they regain the ball, they immediately attack you, they’re a team that doesn’t play too much, they play more in the transition, more of the long balls, because they are physically so
Here are the highlights of Tuesday’s clash;